> It would be disturbing to have the head of Johns Hopkins Allergy clinic > confirm that allergies to bee stings could not be tested for. Obviously, this is not the case. In a worst case scenario a doctor could simply stand by with epinephrine and a respirator and supervise while a patient was stung with a live bee. (Yes, this is drastic and probably impractical for someone who may go into anaphylactic shock but the fact remains that it _is_ a valid test.) Dave got conned, plan and simple-- if the story _is_ as simple as he paid his $400 and didn't receive any kind of testing or treatment. Just because someone is an MD and head of the clinic doesn't mean s/he's honest or knows what s/he's talking about. (Doesn't mean the opposite either.) What one should not ask a physician is that s/he guarantee that one's body chemistry will not change with time-- conceivably one could be allergic today and not a month from know-- but the fact remains that there are clinical tests that would demonstrate one's reactivity today or a month from now. - Conrad Berube " ` ISLAND CROP MANAGEMENT " ` 1326 Franklin Terrace _- -_`-_|'\ /` Victoria, B.C. _/ / / -' `~()() V8S 1C7 \_\ _ /\-._/\/ (604)480-0223; fax (604)656-8922 / | | email: [log in to unmask] '` ^ ^